Sitting Duck

Duck Beach, North Carolina: not a place, but an experience. (Yes, one more blog about the happenings at Duck...get over it.) Common characteristics of the experience include; great hoards of single, flirting Mormons from all along the East Coast and beyond, sand, volleyball, sunburns, shameless flirting, Deer Park water bottles in excess, a lot more skin than accompanies your average Mormon gathering, an overuse of expletives such as "Fetch!" and "Flip!", and more shameless flirting. I only participated in some of the aforementioned activities.


In truth, this annual Memorial Day weekend trip takes place not only in Duck, North Carolina, but extends to any of the following locations; Outer Banks, Kitty Hawk, Corolla, Nags Head, and Sanderling. Large groups of people rent GINORMOUS beach houses in these and other locations that sleep anywhere from 10-35 people, thus making it an affordable venture. I stayed in a house w/ a total of 12 people (small by Duck standards), but which was RIGHT on the beach in Sanderling. In fact, the bedroom that I shared w/ my friend Becky faced the ocean and we opened our sliding door so that we could fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Sigh. I miss it.


The weather was absolutely perfect. PERFECT! The temperature ranged anywhere from the mid-70's to the low-80's with a steady, warm breeze. Really, the majority of my time was spent laying on the beach, building upon 30 years of skin cancer. But I'm nice and brown now...if not still a bit itchy. I hate that part.

So, you may have noticed the distinct lack of men in my pictures here...yeah. It didn't end up being my greatest priority to meet new boys while there, but just to enjoy my time w/ my friends, who are primarily girls, and get in as much beach time as possible. I loved every minute of it. I did hit some of the big parties on Saturday night, but as I already knew would happen, I spent my time talking to the people I already knew or the ones I had come with. I'm not social in those situations. I don't like them. Give me a smaller group combining people I know and some I don't and I'm a much happier girl. Give me a group of around 4000 people and I just shut down. Sensory overload. Christina is closed for business.

But whatever, that was just one little part of an entirely fantastic weekend. Spending Friday through Monday at a beach is heaven, pure and simple. A few other highlights of my time there included:

• finding some sweet deals on beach chairs (and treating our fearless driver to one to assuage the ickiness of having gotten a ticket on the way down) :(
• learning that I do, in fact, love long walks on the beach
  
• trying crab legs for the first time and liking them
• driving down to the lighthouse to watch one of the most enchanting sunsets
• learning some new, hip lingo..."Hollerrrrrr"!
• discovering the most evil (read: exquisite) creation made by Nabisco - Strawberry Milkshake Oreo
• searching for and finding some perfect sea shells
• getting caught in a crazy hail storm on our way home and wondering if we would make it home in one piece
• strengthening friendships and striking up new ones - learning to appreciate others for who they are

Now aren't you just jealous?

Irony or Disappointment?

"It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought ... it figures"

Thanks, Alanis. So, irony or disappointment, call it what you will...have any of you ever experienced something along the lines of:

• Getting all geared up for a big game, just to break your leg the day before?
• Anticipating a vacation so much that you actually make yourself ill (or unexpectedly get sick) and then you're unable to enjoy it?
• Meeting a person you have read/heard about or communicated with by means other than face-to-face and finding out he/she is either a jerk-face or a total bore?
• Trying an exciting new food (or even a food you've once enjoyed), only to learn that you're allergic to it?

Unfortunately, I have a story that kind of combines #2 & #4. I had dinner at a friend's house (no hard feelings!) on Sunday and we had some fairly harmless salad. They were build your own salads and one of the available ingredients was mango. Now, I've had mango before (not often, but I have eaten it) and I don't recall any adverse reaction to it. For whatever reason, my body chose to reject it this time....in the form of an itchy rash on my neck and face. So now my once satiny skin has taken on the lovely texture of eczema - lots of little itchy bumpies on my neck and face. I'm gorgeous.

Go ahead...ask me how thrilled I am about this...especially when looking forward to a weekend away at the beach... Thrilled? Oh yes. About as thrilled as I'd be anticipating a root canal. Mercifully, it's really not all that bad...it's itchy, but not unmanageably and it's not really visible. What is most unappealing is the texture of my skin. Blech. So...guess I won't be eating mango anytime soon...or ever again. Grr. Oh and by the way did you know that mango is in the same family as poison ivy? At least I'm not alone. (And no, it is most definitely NOT herpes. No, no, no...I know what a cold sore is...unfortunately very well. Yech.) This is turning into a gross post. My apologies.

Anyway...ever had a similar experience? Tell me either weird allergy stories or sad ironic stories...or any story at all. I'm not picky. I'm just allergic.

A Wynneterview

I know that I recently posted the i8ball quiz, but it seems that I'm not out of the "quiz me" kind of mood. My friend Wynne just participated in a voluntary 5 question quiz from another blogger and since she put the invitation out there, I figured I'd bite. Besides, if you either know Wynne or have read her blog, you know that she is not only brilliantly hilarious, but also deliciously off-kilter (only slightly, though)...so you never know what you're gonna get. (This is also a plug for any and all to read her blog, because it really is wholly entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. Read it!!)

So...here goes...

My Wynneterview
by Christina Bishop
(get off my back, will ya? I just got off the paper-writing train, so my brain is still on that track, okay?!)

Wynne: Empty your purse/backpack/briefcase (whatever you happen to be carrying these days) and tell us what's in it.

Christina: Are you kidding me? Oh boy...ever since I graduated to actual purses, and when I say purses I mean the kind that you could sleep in if your house burnt down, so I tend to collect more crap than is absolutely necessary in there. Brace yourselves...
Outside pocket = car keys, lipstick, chapstick, pen, scripture-marking pencil, 2 packs of gum, Target gift card (Whoopee, I forgot I had that!), some face-blotting tissues, my business cards and my iPod.
Ginormous inside pocket = little mirror, more face-blotting sheets (it's humid out here, alright?), nail file, cell phone, empty Tupperware container from my lunch, a planner I never use, my wallet, a lipstick case, and (my personal favorite) Hempz herbal hand lotion, which I received as a stocking stuffer from my mom. The best part? It has a picture of a marijuana leaf on the front.
Hmm, that wasn't really all that bad, but oh we're not done yet.
Little inside zipper-pocket = checkbook, deposit slips, allergy medicine, eye drops and the mandatory supply of feminine hygiene products. Ta da! Huh, I guess I don't have quite as much junk in there as I thought! Good, that means more room for me, then. I don't like sleeping in cramped spaces.

Wynne: What is the meaning of life?

Christina: To keep the world amply supplied with cheese.

Wynne: If you could be a superhero, what would your name be, and what superpowers would you have?

Christina: No, no...nothing cheese-related here. Wow. What an amazing question! I'm going to blog-plagiarize here and use this nifty little quiz to answer you. Two of my blogging friends, Jen and Wendi also had recent posts about this very question and given my present obsession w/ the TV show "Heroes", this seems apropos.

Your results:
You are Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman 82% Spider-Man 80% Green Lantern 70% Supergirl 62% The Flash 60% Superman 60% Catwoman 50% Robin 45% Iron Man 45% Hulk 30% Batman 20%	You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character.
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

YES! Wonder Woman! I get to have those awesome bracelets that shield me from the inevitable rays coming from my opponents' eyes/guns/whatever. (Frightening, I know.)

Okay, but if I were to choose both my name and my power...I would choose...I would choose the power of hyper-perception (not quite reading minds, but close - reading minds could be a little unpleasant & I think I'd rather not know some things for certain) and telekinesis, although I still think that bending time and space for time travel or freezing time would be fantastic too! Ooo, how about a package deal? And they would call me...The Questionable Elf Pimp? Um, I'll leave that one alone, I guess.

Wynne: What are you most afraid of?

Christina: A worldwide shortage of cheese.

Wynne: How do you feel about cheese?

Christina: Are you really asking a girl from America's Dairyland her feelings on cheese? Well, you see, cheese and I have a very, very special relationship. But I'm not one to eat and tell, so I'll keep it between me and the fromage.


I'm sorry if any of these were totally lame-o answers! I ran out of ideas? Anyway, do you think you can do better or would you just like to give this thing a whirl?

Well, here are the rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. (If you don't have a blog, well—I guess you could do it in the comments section of this post, if you really, really want to.)
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the
same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Any takers?

Pop Goes My Heart! Music and Lyrics

A friend's blog turned me onto this little gem. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I thought sharing this bit could be just what people need to get them through a tough day in the middle of finals, work, and life-related stress. I heard that the movie isn't much to shout about, but that this video makes the whole thing worth it. I believe it.

Okay, honestly? They've gotten the 80's video down pat! And my favorite part? Hugh Grant's hip swivel, of course! It was my favorite feature of Love Actually too, so I'm happy to see him utilizing this talent more. Perhaps we'll see him on Dancing With the Stars next. However, that really is him singing AND playing the piano! Go Hugh!

Anyway, so I wasn't one of the "lucky" kids who grew up with MTV or VH1, but I've seen my share of videos from the 80's and 90's. My question to you, is, what is your favorite? What makes it so special? (Please provide a link or URL , if at all possible.) Oh, and does anyone miss Pop-up Video as much as I do? Sigh. I sometimes wish life were like that. I mean, wouldn't your next blind or first date be SO much more entertaining with little blurbs that give you interesting and sometimes embarrassing information about your date? Feel free to also tell us where you wish you could see Pop-up balloons utilized in life.

Ok. Let's hear it!